A patient performs a video search. (Credit: Nuyujukian P, et al. PLoS ONE 13 (11): e0204566.)
For the first time, three tetraplegic people are able to control a commercial tablet device with their thoughts thanks to a brain-computer interface. The research suggests that people who lose the capacity to speak may be able continue to communicate with the technology.
Mind-controlled Mouse
The three study participants are part of a clinical trial to test a brain-computer interface (BCI) called Brai ...read more
(Credit: Suriya Yapin/Shutterstock)
From dogs to giraffes, humans aren’t the only ones who know the glorious relief that comes from scratching an itch. But the science around itchiness is still kind of hazy. Especially when it stems from skin diseases like psoriasis or eczema, which each affect more than 3 million people in the U.S. yearly.
To try and get experts on the same page, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine’s aptly named Center for the Study of ...read more
Peasants revel at a wedding feast in this classic 1567 work by Dutch Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Food has long been linked to celebration across many cultures. This holiday season, you’ll be tasting a lot more than you think thanks to the complex role of taste receptors in the digestive process. (Credit: Peter Brugel/Wikimedia Commons)
Every November, millions of Americans tuck into a tasty Thanksgiving dinner, most often a traditional roast turkey with all the trimmin ...read more
A screenshot from a Nature video showing the ionic wind drone. (Credit: Nature)
Most drones today are noisy: The whine of motors and the hum of propellers produces an unavoidable din that instantly telegraphs their presence.
By contrast, the small plane that flew across an indoor track on the MIT campus this fall was eerily silent. Though its furthest flights were obviously powered, you could be forgiven for thinking it was some sort of trick. That’s because the plane uses an entirely no ...read more
Archeologists say that Levallois style tools represent a significant progression in tool technology. New research explains how this technique emerged in East Asia. (Credit: Bo Li)
To the untrained eye, stone tools look a lot like old rocks. But to an archeologist, stone tool surfaces provide important clues about the technological advancements of their crafters.
The history of stone tool making dates back to 3 million years ago. As our ancient predecessors evolved, their tools changed, too. An ...read more
Two ion thrusters firing on BepiColombo. (Credit: QinetiQ)
Glowing Blue
In December, two discs on the bottom of a minibus-sized spacecraft headed for Mercury will start to glow blue. These blue, glowing discs are the solar-powered electric thrusters that will get the BepiColombo mission to Mercury.
BepiColombo, a collaborative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on October 20, ...read more
Participants at the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Annual Meeting of New Champions wave hello to the Manus robots. (Credit: ATONATON)
When I pick up my iPhone and tell it do something, it feels natural. That’s much of the appeal behind Apple devices — the intuitiveness of their interfaces makes it easy for us to translate human thoughts into the language of a machine.
The machines in Madeline Gannon’s latest project sit at the other extreme of this spectrum. The ...read more
(Credit: melissaf84/Shutterstock)
Humpback whales are crooners. During the breeding season, all the males typically sing the same tune, which changes over time.
Now, researchers find the humpback whales’ song doesn’t just change, it gets gradually more complex each year. That is, until the progression abruptly ends and restarts with a new song, something the researchers term a “cultural revolution”. The new song is simpler and may represent a cap on social learning ...read more
A cholla cactus. (Credit: Focqus/Shutterstock)
As anyone who’s gotten too close to a jumping cholla cactus can attest, the experience is singularly painful — and difficult to resolve, as the cactus’ spines are particularly stubborn to remove.
Cactus spines have many functions, from protection to the collection of vital water in dry climates, but some are so much harder to remove than others. Now researchers have found out why.
Microstructure Matters
Stephanie Crofts and ...read more
